Theoretical nursing : development and progress / Afaf Ibrahim Meleis, PhD, FAAN, Margaret Bond Simon Dean, Professor of Nursing and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 502-635) and indexes.

"An additional assumption was that the processes for theory development were new to nursing and hence, nurses in graduate programs learned strategies for advancing knowledge from other disciplines. This assumption was debunked with the knowledge that nurses were always engaged in knowledge development, driven by their experiences in clinical practice. Because of these assumptions, most of the early writing about theory development was about outlining strategies that should be used, rather than strategies that have already been used in the discipline to develop theories. Theorists themselves did not uncover or adequately discuss ways by which they developed their theories, therefore the tendency was to describe processes that were based on theories developed in other disciplines, mainly the physical and social sciences. And an implicit assumption was made that there should be a single strategy for theory development, some claiming to begin the process from practice, and others believing it should be driven by research"--Provided by publisher.

This revision provides a comprehensive developmental and historical review of nursing theory. It offers an updated analysis of the evolution of nursing and represents the degree to which many scholars view the focus and mission of nursing as a discipline through the development of its theoretical base.